Lightning
by Kai Tyler
Summary: Starts off the day of the comet, Zuko and Katara realize theres something more.  Zutara
1. How It Really Happened

_I do not own , _Avatar: The Last Airbender, _it belongs only to the writers who wrote it. I merely put my twist on it ;)._

_I DO however own _MY_ ideas. _DON'T _plagiarize._

~Ch1: How It Really Happened~

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On the day the comet arrived, Katara and Zuko set off to the Fire Nation to prevent Azula from becoming Fire Lord.

Raising his hands holding the golden flame above the seated figure in front of him, the Great Sage announced to the empty courtyard, "By decree of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Fire Lord-" The Sage stopped and looked out at the stone yard.

Azula whipped her head around, the loose strands of her hair flailing about, "What are you waiting for?" she spat, a venomous look upon her face, "Do it!"

When the sage continued to look out above her, Azula turned to see the Avatar's flying bison soar over the building at the far end of the yard. He landed with a thud on the stones in front of her. Her traitorous brother and the Waterbending peasant upon his back.

Zuko stood up on Appa's head, "Sorry," he said, no tone of regret in his voice, "But you're not gunna become Fire Lord today." he jumped off the bison's head, landing gracefully in front of him, "I am." A determined look was plastered upon his features as a rouge wind ruffled his clothes and hair.

Azula clutched her stomach and laughed, "Ahahahaha! You're hilarious." She gave him a look out of the corner of her eye that hinted at the madness swirling inside her head.

Katara took her place beside Zuko, a glare fixed on her face "And you're going down."

The Fire Sage motioned forward as if to place the golden flames into her top knot. She held up a hand to stop him. "Wait," she said, "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother." The menacing grin she had growing larger as she spoke, "The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai! _(*Author's note: JUST noticed that my name is part of the thingy! HA! Cool! Anyway! Back to the story!*) _Azula's face lit up at the possibility of killing her brother.

Zuko gritted his teeth and Katara's glare deepened. "You're on." said Zuko, hate in his voice.

Katara's head whipped around to Zuko, a look of concern taking over her features. She knew that with the comet that Zuko's Firebending would be heightened, and she knew that he could hold his own against his sister, but something inside her was telling her that she _did not_ want Zuko fighting Azula on his own. She brushed it off as motherly concern, even though Zuko was a good two years older than her.

Azula smirked at her brother's response. She had been beating his behind for years, this would be too easy for her.

"What are you doing?" said Katara, voicing her concern, "She's playing you! She knows she can't take us both so she she's trying to separate us!"

Zuko didn't shift his gaze from his sister, "I know. I can take her this time."

Katara continued trying to sway him, "But even you admitted to your Uncle that you would need help facing Azula!" something inside Katara did _not_ want Zuko going it alone.

"There's something off about her," he said, catching the the glint in Azula's eyes, "I can't explain it but she's slipping." There was something else too, Zuko felt it inside him for Katara, above his stomach but not in his chest. More of an ache in his diaphragm than anything, "And this way, no one else has to get hurt." he turned to face Katara, seeing the shocked look upon her face turn into one of understanding and determination.

Zuko took his place at one end of the court yard, kneeling and facing away from his sister as she did the same on the other end. He sent up a quick prayer to Agni, praying that it all would end that day, that he could take down Azula, and, to his surprise, that Katara would not get hurt.

He slowly stood and turned to confront Azula, "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother." She pulled off her robe and let it fall to the ground beside her. Her balance was off and her face had a crazed look fixed upon it.

A small breeze blew Zuko's hair, "No you're not." He kept his hands raised and ready for attack.

Azula popped her hip and swayed to the other, raising her hands as well. She looked at him with her forehead tilted forward, her hair blocking some of her vision.

Azula threw blue flames towards her brother, him jumping and meeting them with his own orange. They collided in the middle of the court raising high into the air then out to the sides.

They both released their flame at the same moment, allowing it to clear before Azula propelled herself into the air and jumped forward, blue flames protruding from her foot in midair before landing and swiping her hand in front of her with more fire. She brought her right foot up in a swoop and spun around then landed and threw a fire punch and Zuko.

Zuko deflected and threw offensive moves of his own, from above all that could bee seen of the palace was blue and red fire leaping about the courtyard. Many of the buildings nearby were on fire.

Zuko pulled his arms into his chest before throwing his arm out as if to punch. His fire was met with his sister's blue at the center of the yard. The flames exploded outward and upward, then continued to collide in the middle but allowing some to sneak by one the side. A jet of blue fire was streaming past Zuko, as was one of orange past Azula.

Zuko's foot began to slip, but Azula suddenly stopped, causing him to stop as well and regain his footing.

Flames leapt up the building behind Azula, she spun around to look at it, then back to her brother. A murderous look upon her face. She stepped forward, her mangled hair swinging in her face. She propelled herself forward on a stream of blue fire, she turned midair and slammed the pillar of fire down into the ground.

Zuko blocked the attack easily, turning the blue flames orange. Azula panted heavily on her end of the court yard, everything around her was in flames. Splotches of blue and red orange against the grey of the stone court. She grit her teeth at Zuko as he punched more flames at her.

She jumped out of the way just in time before using her fire to fly towards Zuko while throwing fists of blue at him. Zuko pushed himself off the ground using his own firepower, then whirled around to throw a fire whip at Azula. In a move like her own, he smashed a pillar of fire down toward her.

She dodged around it easily, still flying forward on her fire. She whipped around her brother, throwing blasts at him as she circled. All of which he blocked before throwing a couple fists of his own.

His sister continued around him, he threw himself down on the ground and twirled his legs around in a modified break-dancing move with fire coming from his feet in an outward movement toward his sister.

He landed back upright as his flames collided with Azula, causing her to stumble. She bounced across the stone yard several times before coming to a painful stop on her side. She got to her feet quickly, her hair completely freed of its topknot. It hung around her face madly as her brother taunted her, "No lightening today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?" He emphasized his words with hand motions. Katara standing slightly behind him, ready at a moments notice to heal Zuko.

"Oh," Azula panted, "I'll show you lightening!" she threw her arms about summoning the electricity from the air around her. The blue light flashed across Zuko's features as he steadied himself with a deep breath.

Azula brought the lightening to her finger tips, he eyes zoning in on her brother. Zuko watched her carefully, ready, waiting.

Suddenly, her eyes shot to Katara, and she made the split second decision to shoot. She brought her hands in and released to toward Katara.

Zuko saw what she was doing, his eyes flying to the light from his sister's hands. A mantra began in his head, _Don't let it hurt her, don't let it hurt her, don't let it hurt her. _On and on in went and in that moment he knew what he had to do.

And he knew why he had to do it.

Zuko ran in front of the speeding light, "_NO!_" he took the lightening in through his fingers as he was flying in the air in front of Katara. It shot through his chest, frying him as he shot it into the air above him.

Katara saw him hit the ground, a look of shock still upon her face. She watched the man in front of her shake and twitch as electricity coursed through him. He curled into a fetal position before laying out flat as he saw the sky begin to fade black.

Katara screamed, pain ripping through her chest as he lay there, "_Zuko!_" she ran forward, to him. But she was cut of by blue fire from a cackling Azula. She swayed on her feet, as she approached Katara.

Zuko stirred on the ground, and Katara tried again to run towards him, water on her hands, prepared to heal, but blue cut her off again, causing her to sprint away from him once more.

Azula's wild laughter pierced the air as Katara took off. Blue fire licked her heals as she tumbled to a stop and spun, still crouching, to face Azula who had taken a perch on top of a nearby building.

Zuko knew he had to help Katara, he owed it to her. After betraying her in the caves under Ba Sing Se, he owed her. He reached his hand out to her, still sprawled on the ground, but he could not get up. His arm curled back in to his chest, hoping to ebb the pain, but to no avail.

Azula stood on the rooftop, summoning lightening to her fingertips, "I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu if you don't mind!" With that, Azula sent a blast of lightening toward Katara who blocked it quickly with a wave of water, steam billowing in the air around her before Azula sent another two bouts of fire.

Katara dodged and ran toward the pillars behind her, taking cover as Azula threw more flames at her. She pressed herself against the stone, trying to be as small as possible. Flames chewed the ground around her, she looked over at Zuko over her shoulder. She felt the pain erupt in her chest again, it was almost immobilizing.

"Zuzu, you don't look so good!" Katara continued to look at Zuko, wishing there were some way that she could help him.

Azula conducted lightening toward her once more, making her run from her sheltered pillar. Toward the other end. She paused there, before looking around and finding a water supply. She bent the water into a swirl before pounding it into the roof where Azula was seconds before.

_Where did she go?_ she thought, _She was right there!_ She spun around to see Azula using her fire to fly over the building behind her. Katara ran from behind her column, bending the water again to surf on the ice. She slid along as Azula propelled herself after her on her jets. She threw a blast at Katara, melting the ice and making steam. But Katara kept going, surfing the ice, into another pillared area. She came to a halt on top of a grate where she could see a large water source.

She looked up, and, seeing a chain hanging from a torch, ran toward it. Azula clawed her way around the pillar, "_There _you are, filthy peasant!" Katara whipped around, chain in hand to see Azula coming closer.

Azula approached slowly, and Katara held her ground. When Azula stopped, Katara whipped out at her with water, causing Azula to drop and roll onto the grate in front of her. Katara immediately ran onto the grate where Azula was attempting to conjure lightening. Just as she was about to release, Katara bent the water up from the grate to freeze around them.

Azula looked around helplessly, unable to move. But Katara remained calm and blew out from her nose, liquefying the water around her so she could move. She wrapped the chain around Azula's hands before tying it to the grate below them. She released the water, around them and they both gasped for breath. She tightened the chains on Azula's wrists before running out to Zuko, praying to the Spirits it wasn't too late.

She turned him over carefully onto his back, she bent the water from her pouch onto her hands before placing them on the knew scar on Zuko's chest. Her hands turned blue and she closed her eyes in concentration. Zuko gritted his teeth in pain but opened his eyes, Katara met his gaze with a smile.

"Thank you, Katara." Katara felt tears slipping down her face as she said, "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Katara helped Zuko stand, he leaned heavily on her as they approached Azula. The close proximity of them sent electricity through both their systems.

Azula flailed about, still chained to the grate as she screamed and breathed fire. Tears streamed down her face, as she sobbed heavily and flopped on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Zuko." whispered Katara, her hands still supporting him.

"Don't be," he muttered back, "I'll get her the help that she needs." they looked on as his sister continued to squirm. Eventually she seemed to realize that struggling was useless and she just lay there sobbing, exhausted.

"C'mon," said Zuko, sometime later, "Let's go, word should be coming soon about what happened." Katara nodded.

They turned away from Azula and walked back toward the palace, Zuko still leaning heavily on Katara. When they reached the palace, Zuko ordered some of the guards that were left to take Azula to the nearby high-security prison. She would receive the mental care that she needed there, but away from everyone so she couldn't hurt any one else.

Zuko led the way through the winding halls, to a room he remembered from the years before his banishment. When they reached the room, Katara laid him down on the bed where he promptly fell asleep. Katara curled up next to him and was out cold before her head hit the pillow

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There was a knocking sound of flesh on metal, Zuko groaned and roused himself from his deep sleep. He sat straight up, but moaned again and leaned back on his arms. His chest still hurt, and he wrapped his arm around it as he threw his legs over the side of his bed to go to the door. He shuffled across the floor, not quite recuperated enough to walk straight again.

The knocking came again, "I'm coming, I'm coming," he finally made it to the door and opened it. There was a young guard, who looked into Zuko's face with fear and astonishment.

"Yes?" growled Zuko, not in a good enough mood to be civil yet.

The guard opened his mouth, "I- I-" he stuttered out, then he closed his mouth and spoke again, "Prince Zuko," he bowed, "Word has come from the Avatar, the battle was won in your favor, your father was defeated."

Zuko perked up immediately, it was over, finally it was over! "Katara!" he yelled over his shoulder, she stirred and Zuko looked back to the guard, "Thank you, you're dismissed."

Katara stirred in the bed, mumbling to herself as she sat up. When she realized where she was and how intensely Zuko was looking at her, she leapt up saying, "You should be laying down! Why did you get up?"

Katara walked over to him quickly and went to help him to the bed when he yelled, "Katara! We did it! It's over!" He picked her up in a fit of joy and spun her around before planting her back on the floor.

"What?" asked Katara, not understanding yet. Zuko hunched over to look her in the eyes, his hands coming up to cup her face, "Katara, the war's over, it's finally over! Aang did it!"

"He did? Is he okay? Where are the-" Zuko cut her worries off by bringing his lips to hers.

The kiss surprised them both at first, and their eyes shot open. But feeling the electricity between them ebb into the kiss, they deepened it and their eyes slowly fell shut.

Katara's heart thudded in her chest as her lips moved with Zuko's, she felt her hands snake up into his hair and take grip there. She raised herself up on her toes so he didn't have to hunch down so far. Zuko's hands went from her jaw, down her sides, to her waist, where he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up higher. The air around them seemed charged, as if someone was drawing lightening from it. The electricity zapped between their lips, shocking them.

The power ripping through them eventually calmed enough for them to come up for air. When they opened their eyes again, and saw just what happened, they jumped apart.

But as soon as Zuko did, he clutched his chest and fell to the floor, "Zuko!" screamed Katara. She ran over to him, rolling him over onto his back. His new scar looked raw, like something had been rubbing up against it, then she realized with a blush that it had been her who was rubbing against it.

She gloved her hand in water and pressed it against the pink star shaped scar, her hand glowed blue as she healed him again. When she has done as much as she could, she slipped her arms under his shoulders and the back of his knees and attempted to lift him off the floor. Somehow, she managed it and got him into to bed again.

When she made sure that he was safe in the bed, she popped her head out the door and asked the guard there for a supply of bandages. When he returned with them, she returned to Zuko and began wrapping it around his torso.

When finished, she sat by his side and waited for him to wake.

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_I realize it's not much in the way of my own writing. But I had to start somewhere, please review and let me know what you think. ALL criticism is welcome. :) Thank you!_


	2. Rescue

_Thank you ALL so much for the wonderful reviews! I hope you like the story so far. If any one seems out of character, PLEASE let me know! _

_Thanks again,_

_Kai_

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_Zuko_

It was three years after I stole the kiss from Katara, the day the comet passed, and the day I became Firelord. Then, the world was on it's knees; people were dying everywhere. Money was short, taxes were high, and the Fire Nation insignia was everywhere. Then, everyone hated us.

So much has changed.

Now, everyone has a clean slate. Prisoners of war that were not a threat to the public were let out of prison, taxes were dropped dramatically, the populations flourished, crime was at an all time low, and the world was at peace.

The day Aang defeated my father, I locked Ozai in the highest security prison in my nation. Where he could never hurt anyone ever again.

I admitted Azula to the best mental institute for fire benders in the world. She could get the help she needed there, and she was doing amazing. She wasn't all there, but she knew what had happened. She knew of our Agni Kai, and how she had lost. And she thought nothing of it. She was happy to finally be free.

Ozai's tyranny had finally ended.

The palace staff was reinstated, no questions asked, by Uncle. They picked up where they had left off, as if Azula had never banished them.

Ba Sing Se's wall was repaired, at the expense of the Fire Nation, seeing as we did the damage. I also helped with the reconstruction of the South Pole. The men returned home, only to find their very small village even smaller. So I journeyed to the South Pole, and with the help of several very skilled water benders, the South Pole became much like it's Northern sister's. It also helped that a quarter of the Northern tribe's population moved south. Soon, the small speck of a village became a city of ice, complete with a small palace and wall.

Aang now traveled the world, keeping the peace and solving disputes between people. Toph's parent's eventually caught up with her and hauled her back to the Earth Kingdom. Chief Hakkoda became "king" of the Northern water tribe, making Sokka and Katara prince and princess. Suki returned to Kyoshi, much to Sokka's distress as he had to return to the South pole for a time. Ty Lee returned to the circus, overjoyed (which would be regular joy for her, seeing as she's that peppy about everything) that the universe had given her signs for a career change.

Katara, she returned home as well, breaking off all contact with me and Aang.

The day I asked my father of my mother, he gave me the worst news I could imagine, that she was dead. He had had her killed a little while after her banishment. I didn't want to believe him, so I sent out men to every corner of the globe to try and find her. After two years of nothing, I gave up.

Mai and I kept on together for a while, but my heart wasn't in it. And as time went on, she lost interest as well. At least in me anyway, she stuck by to keep her hand on my title.

I think she expected me to marry her.

Ha, like I would do that when I loved someone else? Bull.

Uncle and I stayed at the palace together, and he slid easily into the role as my advisor. I, on the other hand, struggle to keep my head above all the paperwork. It was a hard thing, ruling a nation. Most kings and queens make it seem simple. But in truth, it's a load of paperwork, public appearances, banquets, national holidays, celebrations, and stupid nobles who know nothing of the lives the under classes lead trying to make things easier on themselves. All of it's enough to make you explode, which I have done on several occasions.

Not to mention, trying to slowly let down a clingy girlfriend, practicing my bending, training, and keeping in touch with people across the planet.

Aang sent me messages about every other week, detailing the animals he was riding and how Momo and Appa were getting along with the locals, often times commenting on a new food he had tried. He sometimes threw in how he was going about keeping the peace and a dispute between people. It was obvious that he wanted to settle down somewhere and just be a kid, but, being the Avatar, that was impossible.

I heard from Sokka more often, just about twice a week. You could tell he was thoroughly bored and missed Suki. One week he sent me news of Katara, knowing that I didn't hear from her. He assured me that she was doing fine, training the young water benders and teaching healing. Sokka informed me that she had been attracting the eyes of many of the young men in their village.

I thought it was a good time to pay the Southern Water Tribe a visit.

I sent Sokka a letter telling him that I would be coming by sometime soon, and that I planned on stopping in the Earth Kingdom to pick up Toph and at Kyoshi to get Suki. If I ran into Aang sometime in that window, I'd be sure to invite him, albeit begrudgingly.

And so I planned.

About a month after receiving the message from Sokka about Katara, I set off. In the middle of the night I left, leaving Uncle to hold the reigns of my Nation whilst I was gone. I left Mai no explanation of my leaving, and told Uncle to be prepared to deal with her wrath when she discovered where I had gone.

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I sailed east, making good time to the Earth Kingdom. After about three weeks we pulled into port, and I stepped off the metal gangway to immediately be punched in the arm by a very disguised Toph.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, only to see her grin. I rubbed my arm where she had hit me, how such a small girl could muster such a force was a mystery to me.

"Hey there, Sparky. What's happenin'?" Her cloudy green eyes were focused on nothing as she readjusted her hood.

"Haha, good to see you too, Toph. Not much, I came to rescue you." I laughed when she immediately perked up.

"Really?" she sounded elated.

I laughed again, "Yeah, you really think I'd just leave you here when I was on my way to go see the gang? No way! But how did you know I was coming?" We walked toward the market place in town, where the men from my ship were restocking on supplies before we headed out for Kyoshi that night.

"I may be blind, but that doesn't keep me from eavesdropping on my parents. I heard them talking about a fire nation ship coming into port late last night and figured it had to be you." She grinned again, "I just _knew_ you were coming to rescue me!" she clasped her hands together over her heart and looked up at me, before laughing hysterically.

I joined in her laughter, "Well, we pull out tonight, so we'd better get you home before your parents notice you're gone and place you under even tighter house arrest."

She scoffed, "Like that would stop me." But she obediently returned to her home, climbing in through the window to her room as I made my way back to my ship.

Later that night, after word had gotten around town that I was there, I paid her family a visit. They quickly invited me to stay for dinner, and Toph merely grinned when I said that I'd be delighted.

We spent most of the meal flicking things at each other, enjoying trying to keep her parents from noticing our conspiratory glances at one another.

The meal was simple, chicken and rice, but Toph and I both left with bits of it in our hair and on our robes. She ran off to change when her mother scolded her and told her to do so, and I excused myself to the restroom to clean up.

Upon returning, the conversation became awkward. It was as if Toph's parents realized that I planned on stealing her away that night.

It became incredibly awkward when they inquired about marriage.

"So, Lord Zuko, tell me; is your being here tonight a sign that you would like my daughter's hand in marriage?" Lord Bei Fong asked simply.

I nearly choked on my drink, Toph had not yet returned but that didn't mean she wasn't listening to every word.

"Uhm, no sir. Toph is a very good friend of mine, we traveled together for a time as you probably recall." her father's face darkened at the mention of her time with the gang, "But I have no intention of marrying any time soon, not that she wouldn't make a wonderful wife."

He nodded slowly, but I could tell that he was relieved that someone like me, Fire Nation, took no interest in taking his daughter away.

Toph couldn't return fast enough after that.

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I took my leave a little after dark, but not before letting Toph know to be ready by one. She nodded, quickly and ran off to her rooms, leaving her parents with puzzled expressions on their faces.

I smiled politely and we exchanged the formal pleasantries of leaving. We bowed to one another, and I took my leave.

Soon enough, I was back on my ship. And by midnight, I was dressed in my Blue Spirit garb, minus the mask, and ready to go get Toph.

I slid through town, falling easily back into the role of a burglar. It felt all too natural to have my Dao swords strapped to my back once more and the collar of my shirt pulled up to conceal my face. I let my still short hair (I liked it short, and shaggy. When it was long I looked like my father) fall into my face, covering most of my scar.

Within twenty minutes I was at Toph's window. I almost laughed when I saw her sitting on her windowsill, patiently waiting for me and swinging her legs in the light of the almost full moon.

"Took you long enough, Sparky. I've been waiting since you left." she spoke with humor in her tone, but it disappeared with her next words, "Could you do me a favor?"

I nodded quickly before realizing she couldn't see me, "Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

She slid back into her room and retrieved a piece of paper and ink, "Could you say goodbye?" she held them out to me, a sincere look upon her face.

I took them from her, and smiled, "Of course, just tell me what you want me to write."

She grinned, "Thanks Sparky. Can you write, 'Mom and Dad, I'm leaving. I might be back sooner or later, but don't count on it. I'm safe so don't worry. Toph.'" Short, sweet, and to the point.

I finished writing with a final flourish of the brush, and, hearing me stop, Toph said, "Can we go know? I wanna see Snoozles' face when we show up on his doorstep. Haha."

I chuckled with her, careful to keep my voice down for fear of waking her parents, "Yeah, let's hid the water."

We slid back through town as only a vibration-knowing earth bender can, and we made it without incident.

The ship pulled out at high tide.

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Kyoshi island hadn't changed much since my last trip there. But then I had been bent on trying to find and capture Aang, not take in the sights and sounds of everyday village life.

The population was still miraculously large for a small fishing town, and the warriors greeted me in their face paint and green robes. Their fans were not in their hands, but I knew how fast they could be drawn.

I waved my arm over my head toward their leader, who wore her once short red hair up in a fancy headpiece like the rest of the girls. Toph stood beside me on deck, and waved in the direction my vibrations were pointing. I knew Toph could see well on a metal ship like the one we were currently on, but she was always more "in her element" on land.

As soon as we docked, Toph ran off the ship into a big mud puddle. She coated her feet and lower legs in mud, then earth bended some into a medium sized mud ball, and threw it at me. I dodged, laughing, knowing she had let it miss me on purpose.

Suki laughed with me as the mud ball splattered against the hull of my ship, "Hi, Toph! Zuko," she nodded respectfully, "What's going on?"

"Suki," I returned her bow, "I was on my way to the South pole to visit, and figured it'd be fun to get the gang back together so, - what's the matter?" a distressed look came over her face, she bit her lip and looked down.

"You came to see if I wanted to go see Sokka, yes?" She refused to meet my gaze, and kept her eyes on the ground. Her hands were behind her back and she rubbed the toe of her boot in the dirt.

I nodded.

"Well, I do want to but-"

"Spit it out, I can tell you're hiding something." Toph cut across her.

Suki almost sent her a glare before realizing she couldn't see it, she sighed, "The thing is, I- I'm engaged."

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_Whoot, this was fun. I hope you all like my cliff hanger!_


	3. Smudged

_Heehee, I know you all hated my cliffhanger! But I tend to write like that, so you may have to get used to it . . . I know, I'm evil :D!_

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_Zuko_

"You're- WHAT?" I yelled, I was dumbfounded, there was no way that Suki would willingly marry anyone other than Sokka, no way.

Suki cringed when I yelled, falling back, almost letting one of her other girls step in front of her before speaking, "It's not like I _wanted _to! It was Oyaji, he said my days as a warrior were coming to an end, and that he had found a suitable husband for me. . ."

I was shell shocked, but Toph, in her usual way, seemed to roll with the punches, "Then we'll just steal you."

I looked over at Toph, as if she could sense the stares directed her way, "What? You and Snoozles had a thing, yeah?" Suki nodded vigorously before realizing Toph couldn't see her, "Yeah," she muttered, "We did."

"Then it's settled. You're going to the South Pole with us." Toph said it as if it was merely that simple.

"I can't just _leave_, Toph, I have a duty to my girls, to my home, to Kyoshi. I loved Sokka, but it's been three years since I've seen him."

Toph turned to me, "Sparky, haven't you been writing Snoozles for a while?"

"Yeah but I don't see what that has to do with anything." I said, confused.

"What do you and Snoozles talk about all the time?" she inquired further, she was hinting at something, but I wasn't picking it up.

"Anything really, but he usually just talks about how much he misses Suk- oh." I turned to Suki, "You're all he talks about, how much he misses you, what you look like, how beautiful you are." I left out the part where Sokka had detailed how good she was in bed, I figured she didn't need to know that we had discussed that, "How much he loves you."

Suki teared up, "There's not much that can be done, but I'll see what we can do-"

"Suki!" yelled a man nearby, he was tall and skinny, not much in the way of muscle mass, but he sounded angry, and his face was contorted by it, "Shit." muttered Suki.

She turned back to face us again, and the man came up behind her, "Who are these people?" he demanded, "Why are they here?" The two girls who had followed Suki to greet us slunk away quickly back toward the village.

"Shinakio," Suki nodded politely, "These are my friends, Toph Bei Fong and Fire Lord Zuko." She gestured to us both in turn. Shinakio sneered down at us, not even bothering to bow back, as was custom.

He turned to Suki, "Who ever they are can wait, I'm hungry." He then promptly spun on his heel and walked back to the village, winking at every girl he passed.

Suki groaned, "His name may _mean _faithful and bright, but he's anything but." She turned to Toph, "When are we leaving?"

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

Later that night, Suki met us outside her hut. Her makeup had been removed, and her now longer hair was brushed and down. She seemed a little flustered, we kind of knew why.

"I may have to live with that man for then next month before our wedding, but I will _not_ sleep with him." she sounded disgusted and a shudder passed through her frame.

Toph laughed, "It's just because you and Snoozles got a little friendly and you don't want him to know,"

Suki paled, "No! I just _really_ don't want to sleep with him!" Toph continued to laugh at her.

Suki scoffed and turned to me, "So where we doing this?"

I pulled my hood farther up, to conceal my face, "The woods, we have a basket for dinner."

We walked through town quickly, avoiding all people, merely blending with the shadows. When we reached the woods, the nearly full moon had reached much higher in the star filled sky.

We sat just inside the woods, with enough foliage to muffle our voices and hide our shadows. I opened the sack I was carrying and pulled out three metal containers. I held them in my hands and willed them to heat up. When they were steaming, I passed them about.

We sat in silence, eating our food before plotting Suki's escape.

When we all finally put down our chopsticks, Toph spoke, "It's really simple. Just leave in the middle of the night like we did with me."

"We can't do that this time though, Toph. You have no intention of returning home, and I'm sure that Suki would want to come back to Kyoshi at one point," Suki nodded sharply, "Then all we have to do is get him to unpropose."

She shook her head now, "I can only refuse the marriage, but that may backfire."

Toph snorted, "You're a freaking warrior? How can it backfire?"

"You'd think it couldn't, but, it can." She looked over to me, begging me to understand with her eyes, "If I, the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, decline a marriage proposal, the village men may begin to think that we're becoming to bold. They may cut down the training for the warriors. And if enough men oppose the warriors training . . ." she trailed off.

"They could cut parts of it." I finished for her, she nodded slowly, her eyes wide with fear.

"Then we do this my way." Toph cracked her knuckles, "We scare him off."

It grew quiet around our circle, the three of us sitting in the dark, the only light coming from the moon above us. At this rate, it would just about be full when we reached the South Pole.

Finally, Suki spoke, "That just may work, Toph."

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

The next day, Suki trained extra hard with the warriors, she worked up such a sweat that her makeup was running down her face when she returned home. She had mud coating her robes from the last rainfall, and her hair was very messy.

When Shinakio returned, he took one look at Suki, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"What the hell?" he yelled, "You look like shit!"

Suki glared, "And what are you going to do about it?" she challenged him, her chin was raised in defiance.

I grinned to myself, everything was going perfectly. Toph and I were watching, or I was anyway, Toph was "feeling" what was going on, from outside the window, it was just getting dark so I was easily concealed.

"You are going to go take that crap off! I refuse to look at you when you look like that!" he yelled, gesturing toward the bathroom.

"And if I refuse?" she crossed her arms, adding to her defiant demeanor.

"Then I'll leave!" he sounded genuinely serious. Honestly, this guy made me want to puke, I hated men like that.

"Then go." And with that, Suki turned into the bedroom and pulled out a bag. She walked to the dresser, stuffed a load of men's clothing into it, and walked out. She threw the bag at him, which he dropped, "Get out of my house."

"I mean it Suki!" he sounded nervous now, "I'll leave!"

Suki had lost interest in him already, though, and had turned back to her cooking, "I refuse to change, so leave."

With those words, Shinakio straightened up, "Fine then, I'm breaking the engagement. Let's see how well you do without me!" he turned around and marched out the door. And with him went Suki's defiance.

She sagged against the table, "She's losing it, Sparky, go help her." said Toph.

Suki flopped down to the floor, putting her head between her hands, "I did it. You guys!" she looked up, "I did it!" there were tears of joy running down her face, smearing the already smudged makeup and leaving tracks of pale skin in the white, black, and red goo.

"When can we leave?" she asked, back on her feet, "I need to see Sokka."

"We can leave as soon as you're ready, Suki!" I assured her.

"Good, let's go tonight." and with that she promptly left the room to go shower.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

When she finished, she ran over to her co-leader, Ajan's home where she told her that she would be leaving and didn't know when she'd be back.

At midnight we left, leaving only a note that Suki may return, or that she may not. Not specifying where we were going, we vanished.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Katara_

Sokka was acting very funny, whenever he looked at me, he began to giggle. Normally I would have strangled whatever he was keeping from me out of him, but with the full moon fast approaching, and the festival being set up at the last moment, there were many things to keep me busy and away from him.

But I kind of figured it out when it began to snow black.

I looked out toward the horizon, just seeing the spot of a Fire Nation ship steadily making it's way toward our home.

That could only mean one thing.

Zuko.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_I know it's kind of short, and a liiiiiitttle late. But I tried my hardest, been a rough week with, yaknow, life._

_Anyhoo, reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated! :D Please let me know what you think! :D TEEHEE!_

_Kai_


	4. Smack

_Hey guys, a big thank you all SO MUCH! to those of you that reviewed! And hell, a big thank you to all that just READ my story._

_I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! It's just, ya know, life. . I'm working, and I'll try to be more consistent with the updates! _

_I hope you enjoy my writerness. (yes, I just made that up. BAM, I went there (WTF am I _on_?))_

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_Katara _

I had approximately half an hour to find somewhere to hide.

I flew down the corridor and took a sharp right, almost flattening some servants walking the hallways. I turned again into the entrance of my garden, which, of course, was made of ice. I heard someone calling my name, but I ignored them.

I stopped short right in front of a large ice wall. I breathed in deep, and welted the wall, I slid in quickly and raised the wall back into place.

I turned on my heel and flew down the stairs into the dark and freezing depths. The blue light around me was soothing and I slowed my pace, knowing that I was finally safe. I pulled the hood of my parka up over my head to keep out the frigid air and shoved my hands deep into my pockets.

I reached the bottom of the stair case and turned again into the deepening darkness. I pulled off my glove, resisting a gasp as the artic air hit my bare skin, and placed it against the ice wall. I felt the ice suck the warmth from my hand and stick to my skin. I inhaled and melted the wall, stepping out into another dark blue hallway.

I sprinted down the hall and turned right. The floor beneath me sloped upwards steeply. And I came to a dead end, placing my bare palm against that wall as well, it melted.

As soon as the wall fell, I froze. Trying to remain as still as possible, I caught my breath and adjusted to the light. As soon as I could breathe, I shot out from the wall. It took me a few seconds to rebuild the wall and sprint faster.

I threw my hand out at the corner to get around it faster. I looked over my shoulder just as I got around to make sure no one was following me. Just as I did, I smacked into someone large and very warm.

"Whoa!" He said, laughingly, "Slow down! Haha."

I looked up into the face of the man that caught me, he blinked his golden eyes several times as he recognized me.

"Shit." I muttered.

"Katara?" he whispered.

I had run smack into the person I was bent on avoiding.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Zuko_

"Katara?" I whispered to the small blue eyed girl who I held in my arms. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped, as if there were something she wanted to say but couldn't get out.

I stood her up on her feet, steadying her as she looked like she was going to fall over. She took several quick steps backwards, and looked to my left where her father stood.

In the moment I had forgotten that he was there, but he merely smiled amusedly at the two of us, "So, Lord Zuko," he said, laughter creeping into his tone, "You were saying?"

I stared at him blankly for a few moments before my mind came back to the conversation we were having before Katara came out of no where and slammed into me, "Um, yeah, the wall looks great. It should be able to hold off any attacks against it, not that anyone would attack it now."

I noticed Katara creeping back around the corner out of my peripheral vision and turned back to her. Her father laughed again, "Indeed it would seem so. But I do believe that you two have some catching up to do. If you'll excuse me, Lord Zuko." He bowed his head slightly as he dismissed himself.

I turned back to Katara immediately and simply stared, taking her all in.

She had grown considerably since we had last seen each other. She'd gained at least five inches, and her curves had filled out. Her chest was considerably larger, though it's full size was restricted by her bindings. Her chocolate brown hair was longer, by far. It now almost reached past her now curvy behind.

Her eyes were the same, those two orbs of deepest blue. Right now they were wide with shock. She breathed my name, "Zuko,"

"Katara," I whispered back, waiting.

She just stood there, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, "I-" she uttered, "I gotta go!" She turned on her heel quickly and fled.

"Katara!" I yelled after her, sprinting around the corner behind her, "Katara!" I stopped short in the middle of the hallway. I heard the cracking of ice to my left and knew she had disappeared into the wall.

"Shit." I muttered to myself. I ran my hand over my face, feeling the scruff of beard that was there. I closed my eyes for a second before sighing and turning back down the hallway, to where Katara's father had showed me my room.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Katara_

I ran. Fast.

I couldn't take it, I needed to get away.

It wasn't that I didn't _like_ him, no, I _did_. That's why I needed to get away.

When I was around Zuko, I couldn't think. My mind would become one giant muddled mess of, mess.

I sagged against the ice wall I had just thrown up between Zuko and myself. I knew that he could melt it in a second, but that he wouldn't.

I shut my eyes and rested my head in my hands. There was only one place I could go in times like these. I took a deep breath, stood, and started walking, wondering why I hadn't headed there in the first place.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Yes it's short, I know you'd think with the month it took me to write this it'd be like, 10 pages long. Sadly, it is not. __L I apologize again for the length of time it took, please stick with me guys. I'll try to keep up! J _


	5. A Heart to Heart

_Zuko_

I was at the South Pole for one reason and one reason alone; to see Katara.

But, as she had ran off, I could only suspect that she didn't want to see me. Not that her not returning any of my letters wasn't a clue.

She obviously regretted that day years ago. And I had to respect that. She obviously wanted to move on with her life and not have anything to do with me.

I felt like a fool.

I felt like a fool for coming, for believing that maybe there was still something, that maybe, maybe things could work out.

Who was I kidding?

It was time to pick up and move on, but, easier said than done.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Katara_

I jogged up the steps that led to the second floor of the palace. I turned into the hallway that led to my room and slipped inside, bringing up an ice wall behind me in the place of a door.

I moved quickly within the rooms, heading towards the back. I stopped short over a thinner patch of ice on my floor and melted it. I dropped quietly down into the antechamber beneath my rooms.

No one but the water benders who had built the palace knew this was here. They had shown it to me when I first moved into these rooms.

I resealed the ice above me, then knelt and crawled until I felt the lip of the chute that led farther down. I flipped my legs into it, and pushed off. The ice walls flew past and I landed smoothly in a pile of snow. I scrambled out of it and bent the excess water off of me.

I turned North and started walking towards the smooth sounds of the ocean.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Zuko_

After returning to my room, I spent an hour staring at the ceiling.

I was interrupted from my staring by a knock at the door. A small dark haired girl popped her head in, "My lord?" She said quietly, "The chief asks that you join him for supper in half an hour."

I stood, "Thank you, I'll be right along."

She nodded and left, leaving me once more to my thoughts. I showered, shaved, and changed. Trying to keep myself busy in order to keep my mind Katara-free. But soon it was time for supper and I followed my nose down to the hall where I knew I would be seeing her once again.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Katara_

It took me ten minutes walking fast to reach the underground cavern at the sea's edge. No one but water benders knew this was here. We had erected a temple to Tui and La here, surrounded by water when the tide came in. It was ice obviously, but it held more grace and beauty than any other structure we had built.

I knelt at the steps and began speaking, "Yue, help me. I don't know what to do. Zuko has come to see us, but I can't summon the courage to tell him what I need to tell him. But, with the impending proposal from Yako, I don't know what to do. My heart tells me to pick Zuko, but my brain tells me to choose Yako. I know if I go with Zuko, I'll have to leave and I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back. He would let me, of course, but it wouldn't be the same. And I can't ask him to stay here, he has a whole nation to run! But if I pick Yako, I'll be here, I'll be with my family, but I'll never have the chance to be with Zuko. And I'm fairly sure I love him. Oh Yue! What do I do? What do I do?"

I kept my head down, almost crying. Yue was the only person I could trust in times like these, I just hoped she deemed this a good time to respond.

Suddenly, the usually calm waters around the temple rushed in to meet me. I stood quickly to keep from getting pulled under, and grounded myself to keep the strong current from moving me.

"Yue?" I called out, "Yue!"

A pale light glittered in the waves that were rushing around me, it surrounded me completely. Soon, the waves were far above my head, almost hitting the top of the ice cavern. Then, they all crashed down onto me.

I held my breath and closed my eyes, waiting for the waved to crush me.

But they never did. And when the sound of rushing water stopped, I opened my eyes to see that the water looked like it had never moved. And the only proof that it had, was the still fading pale white light and the ice water mark on the palm of my mitten.

"Thank you, Yue. You always did know exactly what to say" I grinned at the diminishing light, then turned and ran back to my room, clutching the heart shaped ice patch on my glove to my chest.

~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~

_Hey everybody! Thanks a heap for sticking with me! I love you all for continuing to read this. This time I thought I should elaborate on why Katara was avoiding Zuko :D I did, but I guess it's still a little vague, eh? But I think (HOPE) some of you will get what I mean, if not, I'll explain better next time! _

_Love you guys SO VERY MUCH haha,_

_Kai_


	6. Apologies

Hello faithful readers, goodness knows it's been a while. I'm sorry to say that it is unlikely that this will ever be finished. The idea has left me, and with TRYING to find time to type, it just was not happening. I'm so sorry to all those who held on. Hopefully with the holidays coming around, I'll find a little time to type out the new idea I had, it's not an Avatar fic, but I hope you all will like it, though I can understand if you would not want to read me anymore haha. Ah vell, c'est la vie. I've missed you guys, hopefully you'll read me again! Check out my profile for a little more information! I'll see you soon with luck!


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